Guardians of the Forest Scenario

Attack of the Centigors

A Warhammer Scenario based on ‘Guardians of the Forest’

Athel Loren is a vast, ancient forest that encompasses hundreds of miles of dark canopy and lies in the shadow of the Grey Mountains on the borders of the land of Bretonnia. Said to be infested with all manner of wild and magical beasts, it is much older than even the Drakwald and Forest of Shadows and is at least as old as the Forests of Avelorn. At its heart, the trees tower hundreds of feet into the air, and it is here, deep in the heart of Athel Loren where dwell the Wood Elves. The Wood Elves are more capricious, secretive and manipulative than the Elves of old, and ancient magic has given rise to the spirits of the forest such as Dryads, Treemen and the spites with whom the Wood Elves dwell.

To outsiders, Athel Loren is a place of dark mystery and fear, for many who dare to walk beneath its leafy bowers are never seen again or are found dead with but a single arrow wound. Superstition and dread are the cornerstones of every tale told of this mysterious forest and, from birth, children of Bretonnia are taught to fear its faerie inhabitants.

The lands of Leofric Carrrard, a knight of Bretonnia, border Athel Loren and he knows full well to be wary of the forest. But strange circumstance and a quirk of fate finds him lost and alone in the forest… and it is not long before he is captured by the Elves. Little more than a curious beast to them, Leofric is to be brought before Aldaeld, master of the Elven hall of Coeth-Mara. But before this, he is to be made presentable for such an honour and thus is taken by Aldaeld’s champion, Cairbre, the warriors of the Eternal Guard and handmaidens of Lord Aldaeld’s daughter to the Crystal Mere, a place of great beauty deep in the heart of Athel Loren.

But these are times of great danger for the Wood Elves, as the Corruptor – an ancient beastman shaman and sworn enemy of Athel Loren – has loosed a pack of wild Centigors into the forest to kill and destroy all they find. As Leofric and the Elves prepare to return to Coeth-Mara, the beasts of Chaos attack!

Scenario – Attack of the Centigors

Overview: Leofric and the warriors of the Eternal Guard are attacked by a pack of ravening Centigors and must fight them off to save the handmaidens of Lord Aldaeld’s daughter.

Forces

WOOD ELVES

Leofric, Knight of Bretonnia – Leofric is a Paladin with the Knight’s Vow, heavy armour and a Biting Blade (-1 to enemy Armour saves).

Cairbre, Champion of Lord Aldaeld – Wood Elf noble with Eternal Guard armour (5+ Armour save) and the Blades of Midnight (follows all the rules for Eternal Guard spear-staves, but adds +1 to his Strength and allows no Armour saves). Cairbre is mounted on an Elven steed.

5 Eternal Guard – Eternal Guard weapons and armour.

6 Handmaids of Coeth-Mara (Count as Glade Guard) – Longbow

CHAOS

Centigor Warlord – (As Centigor Gorehoof, but with + 1 Weapon Skill, Strength, Attacks and Wounds) The Warlord is armed with the Scimitar of Skultar and wears Trollhide armour.

10 Centigor – hand weapons, light armour and spear.

Battlefield: This scenario is played on a board 48 x 48. Lay out the terrain for the battle in any mutually agreeable manner, though the edges of the table should be heavily forested. The Crystal Mere is a large lake in the centre of the table, roughly 12 in diameter. It is shallow enough to be waded through, but counts as Difficult Ground.

Deployment

The Wood Elf player places the Handmaidens within 6″ of the north board edge. Leofric is placed so that he is touching the Crystal Mere at any point chosen by the player. The Eternal Guard may be placed anywhere on the board within 24″ of the north board Edge. Cairbre is not deployed to begin with and will arrive later in the scenario.

The Chaos player may place his Centigors anywhere on the board within 6″ of the southern board edge.

Who goes first? Both players roll a dice; to represent the fact that the forest of Athel Loren has passed a warning through its branches, the Wood Elf player may add +1 to their dice roll. The player who scores highest may choose whether to go first or second (re-roll ties).

Length of game: The game lasts until the victory conditions are met (see below).

Special Rules

To the Rescue! Cairbre is away from the glade of the Crystal Mere when the Centigors launch their attack, but as the forest warns him of danger, he makes his way back as fast as he can. At the beginning of the Wood Elf player’s second turn, roll a D6. On a 4+ Cairbre has arrived and he may be placed on any table edge. Cairbre can charge on the turn he arrives. If Cairbre does not arrive, roll at the start of each Wood Elf turn from then on. On turn three he will arrive on a 3+, on turn four a 2+ and if he still hasn’t arrived by then, he automatically arrives on turn five.

Drunken – Emboldened by crude spirits and wines, each individual Centigor must roll for Drunkenness at the beginning of the Chaos player’ turn.

Every Elf for himself: The normal rules for models moving as units don’t quite work in this scenario, so they are altered a little as described here. All models except the Handmaidens move as individual models. The Handmaidens must form a unit, but for this scenario follow all the rules given for skirmishers in the Warhammer rulebook.

To the death: Since all concerned know this is a fight to the death, all models except the Handmaidens are considered to be Unbreakable.

Victory Conditions: The Wood Elves win if they destroy all the Centigors and at least half of the Handmaids are alive. If more than half of the Handmaidens die or they flee the board, then the game is automatically a Chaos win.